A question about ROTC SMPing and becoming an officer.

November 21st, 2011, 01:40 PM

Hello, I have a question about the ROTC SMP thing. I have been through Basic Training and I will be going to AIT next summer. I am a split-op and I'm currently in my first year of college at a university. I have talked to the ROTC guys and they said that I will be able to start SMP contract my sophomore year once I get back from AIT and start school. My question is: I am aiming towards a professional degree in pharmacy and it will take about 6-7 years, and they said that if I want to commission as an officer I will need a college degree. Does that mean that it will take me 6-7 years in order to commission? I am wondering how all of this works. I hope my question is understandable. Thanks!

Hello, I have a question about the ROTC SMP thing. I have been through Basic Training and I will be going to AIT next summer. I am a split-op and I'm currently in my first year of college at a university. I have talked to the ROTC guys and they said that I will be able to start SMP contract my sophomore year once I get back from AIT and start school. My question is: I am aiming towards a professional degree in pharmacy and it will take about 6-7 years, and they said that if I want to commission as an officer I will need a college degree. Does that mean that it will take me 6-7 years in order to commission? I am wondering how all of this works. I hope my question is understandable. Thanks!

It will take 6-7 years if your PharmD program is one of those where a BS/BA is not awarded in the middle and you go the ROTC route. If you went to State OCS or Accelerated OCS, you would only need 90 credits to commission.

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Well, what if I aimed towards "any" degree? Maybe like a two year degree for example. Would that work? Oh, and if I achieve to get 90 credits, how do I enter State OCS or Accelerated OCS? How long is the training?

Well, what if I aimed towards "any" degree? Maybe like a two year degree for example. Would that work? Oh, and if I achieve to get 90 credits, how do I enter State OCS or Accelerated OCS? How long is the training?

ROTC revolves around the four-year full-time undergraduate model. You can complete ROTC in as little as two years if you've completed Basic Training and AIT previously, but ROTC won't commission you unless you have a BA degree or higher at the time of commissioning.

If your program takes you straight from high school to PharmD in one fell swoop, then I would recommend that you enlist as a traditional Soldier for a few years, and then do ROTC for the last two years of Pharm school.

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Can I just do ROTC my undergraduate years so that once I do get a degree I can just automatically commission? I really just want to concentrate on one degree right now. Or, is there some kind of sustaining thing where I can be in ROTC or something?

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Can I just do ROTC my undergraduate years so that once I do get a degree I can just automatically commission? I really just want to concentrate on one degree right now. Or, is there some kind of sustaining thing where I can be in ROTC or something?

collk22, why? There are a lot of incentives for doing so and I also would like to be an officer in the National Guard. It would help me a lot financially throughout my years at the university.

Commissioning isn't the end, it's the beginning. Once you commission, you'll need to spend about six months on active duty training for your branch, and you have limited influence as to when that training happens. These professional degree programs tend to be quite inflexible about disappearing for one or two semesters in the middle. Don't paint yourself into a corner. See my previous testimony, where I recommended a traditional enlistment now to draw tuition assistance, then switching to ROTC for the last two years of your PharmD program to align graduation with commissioning.

I'm concerned that you may try to be too clever by half, and end up in a worse situation than when you started.

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collk22, why? There are a lot of incentives for doing so and I also would like to be an officer in the National Guard. It would help me a lot financially throughout my years at the university.

A few reasons...

1. Read LTC Ritchie's post (post #8) - You're not going to be able to do ROTC for 6 six years, so if you start the program too early, you're going to end up in a tough spot.
2. If your ROTC program is worth a ****, it will require a fair amount of your time, taking away from 'just concentrating on your degree.' PT, Class, Training, FTX, etc....it all adds up to time away from your studies. Not any more than drinking beer and playing xbox, but it is an additional commitment you have to balance.